I'd rather she didn't run than ran poorly - she deserves better than to be lambasted by the media (most of them lacking the knowledge to discuss things with any sense). I hope she is able to muster one last hurrah in a city marathon, but I suspect we may have seen the last of her marathons at Berlin last year.

It must be so hard to come so close and have to pull out so late in the day, I hope she continues when she's recovered and fit enough to compete and it would be nice if she manages a City marathon win or placing.

An Olympic gold medal isn't necessarily a good measure of anybody's talent. Ron Clarke broke loads of world records in the 1960's but never won although Zatopek gave Clarke one of his golds. Eddy Merckx, the greatest cyclist of all time only rode the Olympics once without getting a medal and then turned professional which at that time barred him from any future Olympic appearances.

If she has done most of the hard training and the foot injury just has not cleared for the Olympics; I hope she has a go at Berlin, Chicago or New York this year before retiring. She really is the best we have ever had.

I think that her decision to have her babies signalled a mature woman realising her children would be around longer than her running career.The point at which running was no longer the most important thing for her.

She is brilliant. Just hope she doesn't spend years living with this regret of not getting an Olympic medal.

Marten - not sure having kids has affected her priority to running though. She has still trained as hard and has focused completely on this Olympics, - hasn't she been away from her family whilst training in Kenya?

Freya Murrays name is being put forward as her replacement.Feel soory for Paula as she put everything into it and must be heartbreaking for her too finally admit defeat and give up on the olympic dream.I wish her all the best for the future

I feel so bad for her, she is such an amazing athlete and would have been our best possible ambassador too, such a great sportswoman. Really quite gutted about it, I hope the media treat her fairly this time and reflect her success and hard work.

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